


The Helping Potion

by Malakia



Series: Naruto Magic Week 2019 [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Love Potion/Spell, Love Realization, M/M, Magic, Magic Potion, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 20:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19708606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malakia/pseuds/Malakia
Summary: Tobirama just wanted to help Iruka with the potion assignment the Gryffindor was forced to do. Turns into a moment of realizations and more.





	The Helping Potion

Tobirama stared down at the potion with a deep frown. He glanced at Iruka across from him, the Gryffindor wearing an equal frown and eyebrows drawn together. “Are you sure we did this right?”

“We should have,” Iruka muttered. He consulted the book to his right. “Ashwider egg, rose thorns, peppermints, powdered moonstone, pearl dust, and rose petals. We should have done everything right.” He passed the book to Tobirama. 

The Ravenclaw read over it carefully and, yes, they had done everything right. He growled and snapped the book shut. Then why did anything change?

“Perhaps it’s a dud?” Iruka offered. 

“How can it be a dud if we did everything right?” Tobirama pointed out.

Iruka sighed. “You’re right,” he agreed dejectedly. He reached out and took back the book. “Perhaps there is another potion I can do,” he flipped through the pages. 

“You know you wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t played that prank,” Tobirama chided as he crossed his arms. 

“So you keep reminding me,” Iruka muttered darkly. But then he smirked. “But you have to admit the look on Professor Tajima’s face was totally worth it.” he giggled.

Tobirama pressed his lips together to stop from smiling. It had been hilarious when the potion had exploded in the professor’s face. 

The Gryffindor sighed and went back to flipping through the book. “Also, this is  _ my  _ punishment. You don’t  _ have  _ to help me.”

“I would like to see you  _ pass,  _ Iruka. You’re only adequate with advanced potions.”

“Oi! I may not be as good as you but I am at least above ‘adequate!’”

The Ravenclaw only rolled his eyes in response. 

While Iruka once again returned to the book- after childishly sticking out his tongue-, Tobirama leaned over the potion. 

Amortentia was a very advanced potion to brew but still one of the easier ones. Personally, with it being banned, Tobirama never made the potion but Iruka’s punishment gave them the perfect opportunity to and it was always fun to do things with Iruka there. The problem was that besides drinking it (which both of them weren’t stupid enough to do), there was meant to be a smell of the one someone was attracted to. But neither of them smelled anything different. 

Coming up with a hypothesis Tobirama closed his eyes and leaned forward the cauldron and practically right over the liquid. With his face almost fully in it, he took a deep breath.

The scent was stronger now and it made him smile in triumph. But then he frowned when he took in the smells. 

Freshly cut grass, chalk that lingered in a classroom, and powder from one of those prank toys from the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop. All the scents that he constantly associated with....

“Ah, what are you doing?” Tobirama heard Iruka as his own breath caught. He snapped his gaze up to the other boy. The Gryffindor had one eyebrow raised but had a small smirk on his lips. 

Tobirama straightened slowly and continued to look at Iruka. His heart began to pick up pace and his mind began going a mile a minute at his new information. 

At his silence, Iruka’s smirk dropped away. “Hey, you okay?” he inquired. When Tobirama still didn’t respond, he prodded, “Hello? Earth to Tobirama, are you there?” A second later, his eyes went wide and his body stiffened. “You didn’t drink any of it, did you?!”

That snapped Tobirama out of his stupor. “No!” he snapped instinctually with a sharp glare.

Iruka shagged. “Thank Merlin,” he deeply sighed. He then tilted his head to the side. “Then what  _ were  _ you doing?”

Tobirama felt his ears get hot. “I was... testing a hypothesis. That maybe if I got closer I could smell it better.” 

“And did you?” Iruka asked, eyes growing bright.

Tobirama nodded sharply and Iruka laughed.

“Really!? What did you smell? Let me try!” Not even giving Tobirama time to answer he did what the Ravenclaw had done before. 

This gave Tobirama a moment to breathe and look at the other boy. He  _ knew  _ Iruka was attractive but this was also his best friend- one of his only friends. A good friend that, despite his pranking habits, could keep up (or tried to) with the magic theory ramblings and new spells that the Senju made. A quaffle player that always made time in a match to wave at Tobirama if he came. Someone who wasn’t afraid to talking back or reel Tobirama back in when he was getting too ahead of himself when not even his brothers could. 

In some ways, Iruka reminded the other of his older brother, Hashirama. But while Hashirama shined like the sun and brought everyone to him, Iruka was like a hearth. Just enough heat to never burn but warm enough to feel at peace.  _ At home.  _

Iruka lifted his head with a frown and it drew Tobirama’s attention away from his thoughts. Heart in throat, Tobirama asked as casually as he could, “Did... Did you smell anything?” 

“I did,” Iruka answered, “but... it’s just.... I can’t figure it out.”

For some reason, this made something heavy sit in his chest. “Really? What did you smell?” 

Iruka nodded and then closed his eyes while one of his hands cupped his chin. “Ink and parchment, the deep scent of books, and... the scent that comes after a rainstorm.” 

Tobirama wasn’t sure why he kept going but asked, “And that doesn’t remind you of... anyone?” 

“Well yeah, yo-” Iruka abruptly cut himself off and froze with wide eyes. Yet Tobirama had heard enough to make his breath catch. 

The two of them stared at one another from across the table. Tobirama observed all the Iruka was showing: a dark face that made the scar prominently stand out and dark eyes unreadable. He wasn’t sure what  _ any  _ of it meant and, for the first time, was too lost in what to do as the first move. Luckily, Iruka was always there for that. 

The Gryffindor’s face got redder and he let out a choked sound that reminded Tobirama of a baby mandrake. Iruka then quickly disappeared. 

The Ravenclaw jolted before he heard soft curses below the table. He bent down and saw Iruka, half under the table, was now kneeling, curled in on himself, and that his hands covered his face. “...Iruka?” 

The boy snapped his face up, eyes wide and now full of panic. “Oh Merlin, Tobirama I am so sorry!” he yelled. He placed his face back in his hands. “How could I have let this happen? How could I have known this would happen!?”

Tobirama frowned as his guts pinched for some unknown reason. Pushing past it, he got down on his hands and knees and met the boy halfway. “Iruka!” he snapped as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. He meant to give a little shake but when Iruka flinched away from him, he withdrew his hand completely. But it did the trick: Iruka grew abruptly quiet and looked back at him again. 

Now, Tobirama was lost. His throat was tight and he was unsure of what to even say. He grimaced because all his brothers (Hashirama, Kawarama,  _ by dragon’s breath,  _ and Itama) were all better at this than he was. He tried to imagine what they would do but that only left floundering more than he was now. 

Iruka, though, had come out of his curl until now both of them were kneeling under the table. His shoulders were hunched and,  _ Merlin’s beard,  _ it looked like he might cry. Tobirama knew for a  _ fact  _ that he couldn’t handle that if he did. 

Thankfully, he didn’t but he did cast his eyes down. “You probably don’t want to ever speak to me again after this,” he whispered. 

Tobirama flinched. “Why?” 

Iruka lifted his head with a frown. “Remember, you don’t do  _ this,”  _ he gestured between the two of them. “You said relationships were too... messy. And now... now I just probably ruined our friendship because of my  _ feelings.”  _ He spat the last part in frustration. “And that was always been the  _ last  _ thing I ever wanted to do.” 

Iruka looked like he was going to talk more but Tobirama interrupted him, “Iruka,  _ shut up.”  _ He then reached out and placed a hand on top of one of Iruka’s. 

Iruka lifted his face and, once again, the two of them stared at each other. This time, it was Tobirama’s face grew warm and he looked away. “You’re right,” he began, “I don’t do relationships.  _ But,”  _ he glanced at the other boy, “but I... I think...  _ I might like you too _ .” 

There was a beat of silence. “Huh?” Iruka inelegantly asked. 

Tobirama huffed and looked at Iruka again. The boy gaped at him as if the Ravenclaw had grown a second head and it made Tobirama’s face hotter. His chest felt heavy with a fast beating heart.

“I... I smelled freshly cut grass, chalk, and powder from one of those silly prank toys from the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop you love to buy,” he muttered with a bowed head. “All the things... I associate with you.” 

Once again silence reigned. But then, very slowly, Tobirama heard a choked noise. He lifted his head to see Iruka’s head was bowed, one hand up to his face, while his shoulders shook. 

Tobirma frowned until Iruka lifted his head and he saw the other wore a barely repressed smile. 

“I think,” Iruka said, eyes bright and warm, as he flipped the hand that Tobirama gripped and held back in return, “that we are both idiots.” 

Normally, the Senju would have snapped at his but instead, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and chest. He smiled a little. “You think so?”

“Yep!” Iruka chuckled. Then his face grew serious. “So... do you want to... do a relationship?” 

Tobirama frowned again. “What do you mean? We just found out we like each other.”

“Exactly,” Iruka pointed out. “And you always said you never wanted to be in a relationship before. I don’t want you to feel like we  _ have  _ to just because we found out thanks to a potion.” 

The Ravenclaw stared into the other eyes as he let what he said sink in. They were penetrating and unyielding but not unwelcoming. They spoke volumes about how much he was letting Tobirama make the decision here- for whatever he was  _ comfortable  _ with. It made Tobirama’s chest very warm to be allowed to do that.

He tossed the idea around before he smiled a little. “I think...,” he began as he squeezed Iruka’s hand, “that with  _ you  _ I would like to  _ try.  _ What about you?”

Iruka’s face lit up like a firework. “Really? That’s great! And I would absolutely love to give it a try with you.” 

The two of them laughed a little. Then Tobirama frowned. 

“So what do we do now?” he asked. “Kiss?” He made a face because he wasn’t sure if he was ready for  _ that.  _

Iruka guffawed. “Hold on there! We  _ just  _ figured out we liked each other and agreed to date! I don’t think we are even  _ ready  _ for that! Besides, we haven’t even gone on our first date yet!” 

Tobirama would be lying if he didn’t feel a bit relieved at the news. He then sent Iruka a pointed look. “Hard to go on a date here,” he pointed out. “We are in an  _ isolated  _ castle.” 

This made the Gryffindor hum. “You’re very right,” he agreed. He smiled. “Are you going to go to Hogsmeade next weekend with the rest of us?”

The Ravenclaw grimaced. “Yes. Hashirama  _ convinced  _ me.”

Iruka laughed. “Yeah, your brother can be like that. But hey,” he squeezed Tobirama’s hand, “it will be a great first date then. We can sneak off and go get some butterbeer or something. Just the two of us.”

Tobirama smiled. “I think, I would enjoy that idea.” 

“Great! It’s settled then!” He chuckled. “Now I think we should clean up the potion. Ugh, then I will have to write the report.” 

“That’s the  _ easy  _ part,” Tobirama chuckled as they broke apart and stood up.

“Yeah.  _ For you,”  _ Iruka groaned. “I may also be good at it but Professor Tajima is  _ such  _ a stickler for punctuation and grammar.”

“I’ll help you,” Tobirama offered as they got to work cleaning everything. 

“As long as you  _ don’t write if for me,”  _ Iruka laughed, “last time that happened I thought for sure we were going to be sent to the Headmaster!” 

The two of them quipped back and forth as they finished cleaning. Once done and books packed away, they headed for the door. 

When Iruka was opening the door, Tobirama thought for a moment before he reached out and took Iruka’s other hand. The other boy stopped when he did and looked between him and their joined hands. 

He looked a bit pensive. “You sure?” he asked. “We are about to head out there in public. People will see us.”

Tobirama felt his face grow hot a little. “Might as well,” he huffed anyway. “Let people think what they want. I don’t mind. Do you?”

His insides felt jittery when Iruka continued to look at him with a weighed expression. Then it went away when the Gryffindor smiled gently. “I am fine with it.”

Then, now hand and hand, the two of them departed. 

And, for once, Tobirama looked forward to when people would see them. If it was with Iruka then he was okay with anybody seeing them. It would stop those hurtful rumors that he could only be with someone if he gave them a love potion. 

After all, if Iruka can try with him, he would be willing to try anything with Iruka. Whether in their friendship or this new relationship. And that was a promise he intended to keep no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> If you wish to follow me you can find me on [Tumblr](https://malakia215.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Malakia215)


End file.
